The present invention relates to improvement of treatment of liquid wastes, and in more particularly concerned with pretreatment of an aqueous waste stream to help reduce the solid (i.e., insoluble in water) materials in the waste stream. The invention is more especially directed to a product and technique that permits the consumer, i.e., householder or commercial user of water and waste treatment, to facilitate the partial pre-treatment of solid, i.e., fatty or greasy materials in the waste stream.
Sewage treatment systems, which may be large municipal waste treatment systems or small, individual septic-tank systems, employ bacteria to help break down and neutralize the waste materials that are entrained in the waste water stream. Most of the reduction of solids in the waste stream is carried out by bacteria which digest these solids, especially proteinaceous matter and carbohydrate matter, by changing them into simpler compounds that can be easily dealt with. However, most of the bacteria used in waste water treatment are not particularly effective in digesting fatty materials, e.g., animal fat and grease. Consequently, these materials are only partially treated, and remain as a greasy residue known as sludge.
Enzymes are protein-based substances that act as catalysts to break up various organic molecules, which can include the sludge components. Enzymes are sometimes used in household drains as an additive treatment for clearing or unblocking the drain. The enzyme additive can be used in various plumbing systems, e.g., pipes, drains, toilets, septic tanks, etc.) to remove the sludge from the drain pipes and also to assist the septic tank bacteria.
Enzymes are consumed upon use, unlike bacteria which are living organisms that reproduce in the presence of waste water components. Consequently, the enzymes have to be replenished on a regular basis if they are used for neutralizing or converting sludge. However, there has not been any convenient and affordable technique proposed previously to allow the householder or commercial consumer to add any effective amount of sludge-reducing enzymes into the waste water drain system.